Les différences indigènes au Costa Rica

On nous avait dit, lors de notre visite dans la réserve de Grano de Oro, de ne pas se faire d´idée générale sur les indigènes au Costa Rica. On nous avait dit que chaque territoire, si ce n´est chaque village, a sa propre culture. Nous en avons maintenant la preuve.

Grâce à d´excellents contacts, nous revenons de deux journées où nous avons pu infiltrer Terrabà et Salitre, deux territoires autochtones du sud du pays. Ce que nous avons vu là-bas ne ressemblait en rien à Grano de Oro.

Ce qui m´a d´abord surpris chez les gens que nous avons rencontrés, c´est leur façon de… se nourrir. Oubliez le supermarché, oubliez le robinet! La terre des montagnes et l´eau des rivières permettent aux indigènes de ces deux territoires de s´autosuffirent en termes d´alimentation. Et quand un d´entre eux en arrache, les autres autour viennent à l´appui. Ainsi, j´ai pu manger du cochon mort depuis une seule journée, des fruits à la tonne, du riz et du café cultivés à même l´arrière-cours. Pour ces indigènes, c´est comme ça à longueur d´année.

Ce qui fait d´eux des peuples très accueillants, et très organisés aussi. La démocratie est maître dans ces régions du pays, une démocratie à laquelle plusieurs tiennent à participer. Jeudi matin, nous avons assister à une rencontre communautaire à Terrabà. Le sujet du jour: le projet hydroélectrique que veut implanter le gouvernement sur leurs terres. Tous les points de vue ont été entendus et tous ont pu poser leurs questions. Une commission a également vu le jour, créée de quelques villageois représentant les différentes parties du territoire de Terrabà, afin que la population puisse rester à jour sur la question du projet hydroélectrique. Un vote aura lieu d´ici un an pour approuver ou non le projet. Et ce qui m´a le plus étonné, c´est que pour un territoire de 1500 habitants éparpillés dans 10 000 hectares de montagnes et de forêts, une soixantaine de villageois se sont présentés à la rencontre, jeunes comme moins jeunes. Pas sûr que le même scénario se répèterait au Québec…

Par contre, à l´opposé de Grano de Oro, le dialecte originel se perd dans ces deux territoires. Tous ne parlent pratiquement qu´espagnol, sauf les (très) anciens et quelques têtes dures (ou coeurs tendres). A Terrabà, une école existe depuis peu pour permettre aux plus jeunes de poursuivre la tradition… mais très peu y vont, l´école espagnole prenant déjà toute la place dans leur vie.

——————————–

En ce qui a trait à notre projet à nous, nous nous réunissons aujourd’hui à San José pour les 3 dernières journées. Un petit rush, puis retour au pays. Je vous reviens donc une fois sur le territoire québécois. D´ici là, je récolte les informations manquantes et profite de mes derniers instants au Costa Rica.

Hasta luego!

Gabriel.

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Les différences indigènes

On nous avait dit, lors de notre visite dans la réserve de Grano de Oro, de ne pas se faire d´idée générale sur les indigènes au Costa Rica. On nous avait dit que chaque territoire, si ce n´est chaque village, a sa propre culture. Nous en avons maintenant la preuve.

Grâce à d´excellents contacts, nous revenons de deux journées où nous avons pu infiltrer Terrabà et Salitre, deux territoires autochtones du sud du pays. Ce que nous avons vu là-bas ne ressemblait en rien à Grano de Oro.

Ce qui m´a d´abord surpris chez les gens que nous avons rencontrés, c´est leur façon de… se nourrir. Oubliez le supermarché, oubliez le robinet! La terre des montagnes et l´eau des rivières permettent aux indigènes de ces deux territoires de s´autosuffirent en termes d´alimentation. Et quand un d´entre eux en arrache, les autres autour viennent à l´appui. Ainsi, j´ai pu manger du cochon mort depuis une seule journée, des fruits à la tonne, du riz et du café cultivés à même l´arrière-cours. Pour ces indigènes, c´est comme ça à longueur d´année.

Ce qui fait d´eux des peuples très accueillants, et très organisés aussi. La démocratie est maître dans ces régions du pays, une démocratie à laquelle plusieurs tiennent à participer. Jeudi matin, nous avons assister à une rencontre communautaire à Terrabà. Le sujet du jour: le projet hydroélectrique que veut impanter le gouvernement sur leurs terres. Tous les points de vue ont été entendus et tous ont pu poser leurs questions. Une commission a également vu le jour, créée de quelques villageois représentant les différentes parties du territoire de Terrabà, afin que la population puisse rester à jour sur la question du projet hydroélectrique. Un vote aura lieu d´ici un an pour approuver ou non le projet. Et ce qui m´a le plus étonné, c´est que pour un territoire de 1500 habitants éparpillés dans 10 000 hectares de montagnes et de forêts, une soixantaine de villageois se sont présentés à la rencontre, jeunes comme moins jeunes. Pas sûr que le même scénario se répèterait au Québec…

Par contre, à l´opposé de Grano de Oro, le dialecte originel se perd dans ces deux territoires. Tous ne parlent pratiquement qu´espagnol, sauf les (très) anciens et quelques têtes dures (ou coeurs tendres). A Terrabà, une école existe depuis peu pour permettre aux plus jeunes de poursuivre la tradition… mais très peu y vont, l´école espagnole prenant dejà toute la place dans leur vie.

——————————–

En ce qui a trait à notre projet à nous, nous nous réunissons aujourd´hui à San José pour les 3 dernières journées. Un petit rush, puis retour au pays. Je vous reviens donc une fois sur le territoire québécois. D´ici là, je récolte les informations manquantes et profite de mes derniers instants au Costa Rica.

Hasta luego!
Gabriel.

When traveling abroad with your family, health care should always be part of your planning.The good news is the Costa Rica’s health care is much better than in the United States by just about any measurement. The World Health Organization, infant survivability rates, overall life expectancy and every other measurement shows Costa Rica to be a much healthier place to live than the United States. You’ll have to look up the statistics if you want to compare to another country.What we like most is that you will frequently find doctors right in the pharmacies. Many times, but not always, they speak English. We have found this very helpful as you do not have to make multiple stops to get medical advice and medications. This aspect of the Costa Rican medical system is far superior to what we have in North America. Many travelers report that this is particularly beneficial.   There is a free universal access health care system in Costa Rica. Running in parallel to the free health care system is a very low cost and high quality health care system. Most doctors that work for the state sponsored health care system also have private practices in the afternoon in their own offices or in one of the private hospitals. The clinics are excellent and you won’t wait for hours to receive medical attention in an emergency.

Another nice aspect for families is that there are bi-ligual doctors that will make house calls. Typically the cost is less than $100. We have found the doctors to be very professional in general.

I developed a cough during one of my stays and went to a private doctor. The cost was $15 and he thoroughly examined me and gave me several prescriptions. I was apparently alergic to one of the prescriptions and had a bad reaction. I returned to that doctor and received replacement prescriptions. On the way out, I asked for the bill. There wasn’t one. The doctor felt that his first consultation hadn’t worked out for me, so there was no charge for the 2nd consultation.

When could you ever expect to see a doctor for $15 in the United States? When would you ever expect a doctor to take responsibility for the outcome and not charge for a follow-up visit in the United States?

The cough spread to my two children a year old and two years old. I wanted them to be seen by the best doctor in the country. I couldn’t risk an adverse reaction like I had. After asking around, I got an appointment at Clinica Biblica which is one of the private hospitals in Costa Rica.

It was very modern and typical of a United States hospital except that the ceilings were low (Costa Rican’s are shorter on average than U.S. residents). The wait was only 15 minutes. My boys received a very thorough exam and received shots and oral prescriptions. The total cost was $50 each. Try that in the U.S. The treatment worked just fine this time.

Recently my 14 month old who is learning to walk climbed up on the couch arm and took a dive for the tile floor head first. This was the most tramatic need we have had for medical service. We live in Heredia and it is 45 minutes to Clinica Biblica. I was worried about a concussion.

We immediately took a taxi to Clinica Biblica and was seen in 10 minutes in the emergency room. The doctor agreed that we needed xrays to see what was under the 1.5 inch lump on Peter’s forehead. We were in and out of radiology in 20 minutes. The doctor saw us again immediately to review the xray. There was no fracture.

He prescribed pain and inflamation medication for Peter and we went to pay the bill. The bill was less than $100. I paid $100 and received some change. I didn’t notice how much, but I suspect the total bill was about $90. Try that in an emergency room in the United States.

Also, they have no address for us… so we absolutely know there will be no additional bills. In the U.S., you can receive new bills for various services up to a year later. They also have no credit card information. The $90 was it. It’s done and paid for.

An additional benefit to healthcare in Costa Rica is that most things that are prescriptions in the U.S. can be purchased over the counter at any farmacia in Costa Rica. Farmacias are as plentiful as grocery stores and small restaurants here. You just go to the farmacia and tell them what ails you and a qualified pharmacists (who usually studied in the U.S.) will give you what would be a prescription drug in the U.S. You completely bypass the doctor, the associated costs and the waiting. You just get the medication you need. Try that in the U.S.?

Downsides?

All of the major hospitals are in the central valley area. If you wish to live on the coast, you may have a 2-3 hour drive to a major hospital.

The roads are horrible in Costa Rica. In a true emergency, even living close to a hospital can result in being stuck in a traffic jam or trapped by weather.

The ambulance service is reported to be very poor both in terms of response time and in terms of quality of care. They just aren’t as well trained on average as U.S. EMTs and paramedics, nor do they have as much specialized equipment.

As you can imagine… even with those downsides… We love Costa Rica when it comes to healthcare!

-James D. Brausch

Traveling with Children in Costa Rica – Central Pacific Coast

On the Pacific Ocean side, Costa Rica has plenty to offer for kids – mangrove forests to explore, really wet, tropical rain forests, pristine warm water beaches, and fabulous places to see spectacular wildlife, such as the endangered scarlet macaws, two-toed and three-toed sloths, toucans, ocelots and tapirs, plus marine mammals, dolphins, and humpback whales.

Manuel Antonio National Park (Quepos) – Manuel Antonio National Park (Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio), one of Costa Rica’s most popular parks, is quite easy to get to from San Jose. Right on the ocean, Manual Antonio is a dry-ish rain forest with mangroves and swimming beaches.

The trails through the park are easy, mostly level walking trails, and you can explore on your own. From the entrance, a good route to take is to walk along Playa Espadilla, swim at Playa Manuel Antonio (Manuel Antonio Beach), and walk back along Sendero El Perezoso.

At the entrance to the park, it’s a good idea to hire a naturalist guide to help you see all the marvelous wildlife in the park. The guides have spotting scopes, and most importantly, know where to find all those beautifully camouflaged animals (we stood with an iguana practically right under our feet, and didn’t see it until our guide pointed it out).

We saw common tent bats, tiny little proboscis bats, howler monkeys making lots of noise, a mother and baby three-toed sloth and a two-toed sloth snoozing in the trees, black iguanas (which are really black and ochre colored, and hard to spot on the rain forest floor), a basilisk iguana with a big fin down the back, toucans, iridescent hummingbirds, and squirrel monkeys. We spent some time just watching a (non-poisonous) golden silk spider hypnotically spinning a shimmering golden web.

Bring swim suits to swim at Manuel Antonio Beach – the beach is a sheltered cove with wide sandy beach, turquoise waters, plus picnic tables, bathrooms and showers to rinse off after your swim.

Because it’s so popular, Manuel Antonio can get crowded. The high season is December/January to April. Late May or June is a good time to come, as it isn’t all that crowded, and it’s just the beginning of the rainy season (October is the rainiest month).

Tip: Manuel Antonio National Park is closed on Monday

Drake Bay (Bahia Drake) – Drake Bay is named after that intrepid explorer, Sir Francis Drake, who stopped here in 1579. And it’s still somewhat remote, 45 min. by plane or seven hours by road from San Jose, but Bahia Drake is well worth the trip. It’s one of those places where the wonders of the natural world are so extraordinary and the rain forest environment is endlessly fascinating. You might have seen poison dart frogs or scarlet macaws in the zoo, but it’s completely different so see these animals in their rain forest home.

The beach at Drake Bay is a huge crescent, a black sand beach, perfect for combing for shells and driftwood at low tide (at high tide, the beach more or less disappears). Surrounding the beach is lush, dense tropical vegetation and flowering plants (it gets plenty of rain here). In the trees along the beach, look for colorful scarlet macaws in the wild almond trees.

Rain forest hikes – There are paths along the beach that go from the little town of Agujitas, toward La Paloma, through the forest, across a small suspension bridge, to the beach of San Josecito, where there’s good snorkeling.

To really see the rich and wonderful wildlife, hire an experienced naturalist guide. We took a two hour hike, perfect for kids, to look for poison dart frogs. You’d think these bright red and green frogs would be easy to spot, but you need to know where they live. Our guide led us way into the rain forest and started turning over leaves and branches – out jumped the tiny poison dart frogs. On our hike, we also saw scarlet macaws, two toucans high in the trees calling to each other, blue morpho butterflies, monkeys, a crocodile in a shallow river, and if you’re lucky, you might spot an ocelot also. Corcovado Expeditions has excellent guides and kid-oriented hike itineraries.

Tip: These are wet, wet rainforests, and you often wade in the streams on your hike, so wear good sturdy sandals like Tevas, not flip flops. Also, bring binoculars to spot the birds in the trees high up.

Dolphin and whale watching – Go out for half-day a cruise around the bay where you can look for whales and dolphins year round – humpback whales, orcas, bottlenose dolphins.

Corcovado National Park (Parque Nacional Corcovado) – From Drake Bay, take an unforgettable day trip to Corcovado National Park, fabulous rain forest, with lots of opportunities to see unique wildlife. It’s only a 20 min. boat ride to the park, then hike the trails with a naturalist guide, including a trail to a waterfall, and a cooling dip. (This is a trip you’ll definitely want to do with a guide, so contact your hotel or Corcovado Expeditions).

Terraba Mangrove Forest – Some places are only accessible by boat, and this is the way to explore the maze of channels, lined with mangrove trees, and home to all sorts of birds, caimans, crocodiles, river turtles, boas and basilisk iguanas (they walk on the water). A day trip through the mangrove forests of the Rio Sierpe feels like your own “Lost World” adventure.

Family Vacation Tips Part 1 – Traveling Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast with Kids
Family Vacation Tips Part 2 – Traveling Costa Rica’s Northern Zone

Originally Published by Travel For Kids:

By Alana Herro

The Costa Rican government is developing plans to begin offsetting all of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions, the news service La Nación reported on February 21. Environment and Energy Minister Roberto Dobles said Costa Rica aims to reach this goal using budgeting, laws, and incentives, including measures to promote biofuels, hybrid vehicles, and clean energy. Another key component of the national strategy will be a “C-Neutral” label to certify that tourism and certain industrial practices mitigate all of the carbon dioxide they emit.

Under the new certification system, tourists and businesses will be charged a voluntary “tax” to offset their carbon emissions, with one ton of carbon valued at $10, according to La Nación. The money will be used to fund conservation, reforestation, and research in protected areas. To augment the development of C-Neutral, the country is cultivating a carbon certificate market that aims to not only boost carbon capture and storage in the nation’s forests, but also help maintain their scenic beauty.

In 2002, Costa Rica’s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels totaled 5.8 million metric tons, according to the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, ranking it 108th in the world. Delegates at a recent United Nations meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, noted that they were watching Costa Rica’s initiative and hope to replicate it in other regions.

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.

For your next Family Vacation consider an Eco Vacation in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the most biodiverse place on earth with an unsurpassed variety of wildlife. Costa Rica offers an unparalleled array of safe activities for the entire family. Along with its incredible variety of unique experiences, Costa Rica offers an assortment of family oriented resorts to fit any family budget.

Eco Interactive (EcoInteractiveTours.com) specializes in family oriented travel to Costa Rica. 85% of all profits from Eco Interactive go to the Eco Preservation Society (EcoPreservationSociety.org) and supports wildlife and conservation projects in Costa Rica, including the Saving Mono Titi documentary

Another unique feature of the Eco Interactive program is its relationship with Kids Saving the Rainforest. Through KSTR children develop pen pal relationships with Costa Rican school children and learn about how to create their own conservation programs within their own communities. During your vacation there are educational opportunities through the KSTR program.

In addition, Eco Interactive offers families opportunities for Carbon Neutral Vacation with a personalized family reforestation project at the Rainmaker Conservation Project. Leave a lasting family legacy during your vacation experience by planting trees that will not only offset your carbon foot print for your vacation, but will help to restore critical habitat in the Costa Rican Rainforest.

Wonderful Costa Rica

Costa Rica is an ideal location for your next Family Vacation.

Costa Rica is the first country to set the goal of becoming carbon neutral, with the goal of accomplishing this by the year 2021. The government has declared peace with the environment.

There is no other place on earth like Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the most bio-diverse place on the planet. Nearly 6% of the entire world’s species reside in this tiny little country. It is a place with more species of birds than in all of North America, it has more species of butterflies than the entire continent of Africa.

25% of all the lands in Costa Rica are natural parks and protected areas. The variety and the complexity of the habitats provide your family endless opportunities for discovery and adventure.

Safe, Stable & Peaceful

Costa Rica is a peaceful and stable nation. Known as the Switzerland of the America’s, in 1948 Costa Rica became one of the first countries in the world to abolish their military, Those resources were redirected into education and healthcare. Today Cost Rica has one of the highest standards of living in all of Latin America.

Costa Rica has an outstanding education system, as the country boosts a higher literacy rate than Canada (94%). In addition, Costa Rica has a healthcare system that the World Health Organization rates ahead of the United States. Contrary to what you might read elsewhere, Costa Rica is not a Third World Country. It is a Second World / Developing Nation with a vibrant and growing economy.

The Birthplace of Eco Tourism

Eco Tourism was invented in Costa Rica; with more than 15 years as an eco-destination it has an unsurpassed variety of services, facilities and activities. With the diversity of its ecology, the uniqueness of its varied activities and the development of its tourism infrastructure, Cost Rica is a world-class destination ideal for an unparalleled family vacation experience.

Costa Rica truly has something for every family. For the younger children it provides encounters with the natural world that you just won’t find anywhere else. For families with active teens, the array of adventure activities is unsurpassed.

For more information see:

EcoPreservationSociety.org
EcoInteractiveTours.com
SavingMonoTiti.com

Organizational Alliances:

The Phoenix Zoo
Kids Saving the Rainforest
The Association for the Conservation of Mono Titi
Rainmaker Conservation Project.

Eco Interactive Tours offers the ideal family vacation experience in Costa Rica.